Wet spinning apparatus



April 23, 1957 Filed June 26, 1953 C. PISTOR EI'AL WET SPINNINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 23, 1957 c. PISTOR ETAL WET SPINNINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1953 United States Patent WETSPINNING APPARATUS Christel 'Pistor, Drexel Hill, and Henry J.McDermott,

Colling'dale, Pa, assignors to American Viscose Corporation,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application June 26,1953,filerialrNo. 364,294-

10 Claims." (C1; 18 8) The present invention relates to systems forextruding liquidfilament-forming materials and particularly tosystems-wherein one of such materials may be spun into a Aproblemdnoperating spinning apparatus of this type is that ofstarting'theextrusion of material through'the spinneret and thereuponsuccessfully coagulating, the ma terialand lacing'itthrough the tubewithout any fouling" of the spinneret. Moreover, it is-necessary toproduce an extruded product free from small masses vof coalesced.material so that the resulting yarn will pass readily through? guides inprogressing through and to s'ucceedingftreab ments.- Where spinning isperformed in a closedch'arri-f ber'frorn which the extruded material isdischarged/upwardly from an upwardly-facing. spinneret, the problem isparticularly troublesome because the spinneret is necessarily subjectedto the pressure corresponding to the height of the coagulant necessaryto carry the strand-Jot extruded product upwardly through the spinningtube. Therefore, if the spinneret is placed in the operatingpositionwithout a coagulatable filament-forming material passing therethrough,and the flow of coagulant is started before the filament-formingmaterial is supplied to the spin neret, then "the coagulant is likely toenter the orifices 0f" the spinneret. Consequently, whenspinning!orlextru'siorr is attempted, coagulum may be formedt within theorifices or behind the'face of the spinneret whereuponl the'spi'n neretbecomes fouled. If extrusion is commenc'e'dibefor'e the flowof coagulantis started, the 'extruded m'ate'ri'al fi'ows back upon the face of theupwardly-facingspinneret; If an extruded substance is sticky, asiis thecase withvis cose solution, the-spinneretmay be fouled if the extrudedmaterial is allowed to flow back on its face. Moreover,

any material extruded into the spinning chamber before the flow ofcoagulant is started usually collects in masses which when later caughtby thecurrent of coagulantm'ay be floated about the chamber and thespinning'tube and thus become attached: to the strand being formed'therein.

Such masses attached to thestrand, wh'i'ch at this stage is :in anascent condition, orany enlarged portions of the strand, may causebreakage of'the filaments in-' atte'mpting to pass through a guidehaving 'a' restricted passageway. 1

It is an'object of thep'resentinvention to provide' areadily laceableapparatus for spinning a filament-form ing material into a coagulant orfilament-hardeningliquid in'whichi the'spinneret of :therapp'aratusfaces upwardly in' acl'osed spinning'chamber. Object ancillary tothe'foregoingiobject are to efiect the transfer of the spinneretfr'omanon operati'ngposition outside the 'chamber-to its oper atirig'p'osition whereupon the extruded material may be ii-EFa ntlythreadedthrough a dischargetube, and tofco agfil'at'e' any strand-formingmaterialdischarged fromth'e' 2,789,315 Patented-Apr. 23; 19.57

ice

2 spinneret prior tozreachingt the :operatingsposifibmz. A" furtherobject is to provide a chamber for preheatingathe: strand-formingliquid.before the extrusion thereof in ape paratus; such chamberbeingadditional to .a'closed chann. ber employed incarrying out theabove-namedrobjects.- Other objects, features, andadvantagesawillbecome-lap parent from the followingdescription of theinvention and; the drawings relating thereto in which;

Fig; 1 is a shortened elevation, partly in section, as taken along lineI'-I of Fig; 2 illustrating one embodiment. of spinning apparatus inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in: sectiomtakentalong line II-II' of Fig. 1;

Fig, 3 is a sectional: view of-a .fluid-distributortakeu alongxlineIII-III of Fig.v 1;

Fig. 4 is anrelevation, partly in section, illustrating anotherembodiment of the inventionyand I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary'section:takenalong line-V-V of .Fig; 4 illustrating: in greater detail astrand-'severing member;

In-brief, the-invention concerns spinning apparatus comprising aspinningrchamber, an'open-top chamber in lateral disposition therewithand having a wall, preferablya: wall in common :with'the spinningchamber for separating the chambers; and a spinneret mountedon.apivotable' member-With thepivotal axis thereof "disposed forswing-=ingEthe spinneret from: axposition above the open-top chamberfthroughancpening in the'wall.int0 normal oper ating rposition: within 1 the;spinning chamber. The pivot-* ablemember hast-a. closure: portiorradapted to close the opening-When:.the:spinneret is disposed inoperating'posi tionu Whensthe spinneret is aligned'relativeto'the'-mem-- berrso that it assumesitsrnormal. spinning position withinthe -spinning chamber, it facesinto a spinning tube. err-' tendingfrominteriorly of the spinningchamber upwardly to a regionabove'thespinningchamber. Theopentop chamber is adapted to receiveliquidfrom the spinningchamber through the" opening: and fill "toa: liquidlevel 3 which 'submerges the opening when the closure portion of .thememberi'is not inip'laceith'ereover; The open-top chamberimay'be'further adapted to either sustain the desired levelor-to'ipermitdrainage of the open-topa'ch'am ber following the positioning of the.spinneret' and the-clos ing of the opening =for:normalloperation. V

' Proceedingnowtozdetailszin the construction and op'er--' at-iorr. of.the embodiment. .ofi the apparatus illustrated in Figsjsl and'2,afilament-formingcmat'erial, such as viscose solution;abs-extrudedthrough a spinneret "5 supported by a :piv'otable: arm; 6 "and:aniextension-7thereof. The -armhas a closu-r'e portion18 provided with agroove into which fits a resilient .ringill. The closure portion seatswithin the? opening: or-portzextending through a lateral wall of I 'ahousing14 defining;- the.chamber 15; The ring 11, partly" containedwithin the. groove ofithe :closure 8, engages=the-" periphery ofaplateral openingfof thech'amber '15toseal it from communication with achamber 16 disposedin teriorly of the" container 18; Thecontainer 18andthe housing-14 havea common wall.19 in which the openingwhichreceivesithe closurevStofthe arm 6 is formed. The container'ltirhas aipairiof spaced walls'21 and"22.- The wall 22zhasafiplur-alityof apertures' 23 extendingthrough' anuupper portion. thereof: whichdetermines the overflow tiguous' with-thepassageway'of a drainage duct"25by" which liquid overflowing from the chamber may be led away from aspinning apparatus.

During normal operation of the apparatus with the spinneret disposed asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, the chamber 16 has disposed therein a coiled'tube or rounder 27 of which the ends thereof are connected to differentportions of the arm 6 by couplings 28 and 29. The coils of the tube 27are preferably disposed substantially below the level of the apertures23 whereby the tube may function more efliciently as a heat exchanger totransfer heat from the liquid in the chamber 16 to the filamentformingmaterial passing through the tube. The arm 6 with the tube attachedthereto is mounted with an end of the arm held pivot-ably between twospaced brackets or extensions 33, 34 which extend from the top of thehousing 14 and the wall 19 by two bolts 32 and 35. The bolt 32 is hollowto render it fluid conductive. The filament-forming material is suppliedto the apparatus through a tube 31 connected to the hollow bolt 32 whichextends through the bracket 33 in threaded relationship therewith. Theother bolt 35 is aligned coaxially with the bolt 32 and extends throughthe bracket 34 in threaded relation therewith. The arm 6 has coaxialrecesses in which the ends of the bolts seat. The arm 6 is bored axiallyand radially to provide a passageway extending between the hollow boltand the tube 27. This type of pivotal joint is one well known in theart.

The housing 14 has an upwardly-extending annular neck 36 adapted toreceive a tube 37. The neck 36 may be counterbored as shown to provide adiameter complementary to the outer surface of the tube 37 and to theouter surface of an externally threaded packing-gland nut 39 which maybe screwed downwardly against a packing material 40 to prevent anyleakage between the tube 37 and the housing 14. The tube 37 extendsupwardly through a grommet 41 into a compartment 44 which collects usedcoagulant discharged therein from the tube 37. The yarn which isdischarged along with the used coagulant passes onto a device 45comprising elements 46 of rounded cross-section which strip thecoagulant from the strand as it is drawn thereover. The elements drainthe removed coagulant into the compartment 44. The used coagulant may befurther utilized to reclaim some of the heatstored therein by drainingit into the compartment 16 through a tube 47, whereupon it submerges theheat exchanging coil 27 and then overflows through the apertures 23 ofthe wall 22.

The interior surface of the neck 36 is flared in a downward direction asit joins the main portion of the housing 14 to provide a flow path ofdesirable contour surrounding a spinneret for the liquid coagulant whichflows upwardly through the housing during normal operation. Thecoagulant is supplied to the apparatus from a tube 51 connected to thehousing by a bell-shaped adaptor 52. To avoid local high velocitycurrents of the coagulant within the compartment 15, the housing 14 hasa floor portion 53 provided with a plurality of apertures 54 which causethe coagulant supplied to the apparatus to enter and flow through thechamber at a uniform velocity.

The flared surface of the neck is preferably contiguous with the lateralinternal surface of the housing so as to provide a region within thehousing in which coagulant may flow continuously upward from the floorportion 53 without flowing into pockets or trapped regions such as areobtained, for example, when a bell-mouthed tube protrudes downward belowthe ceiling of the spinning chamber. It is import-ant in operation ofthe present invention to avoid the presence of any edges or protrusionsinternally of the spinning chamber around which the coagulant has toflow so as to avoid the attachment thereto of tacky partly coagulatedmaterial. It is also important in the operation of the present inventionto prevent the entrapment or catching of any particles or masses of thestrand-formingmaterial because of the danger of such particles or massesworking loose from the point of entrapment during normal operation andthen becoming attached to the material being extruded from the spinneretand then passed along with the green strand to a strand guide whereuponthe strand may break when such enlarged masses or strand portions pulledthrough the guide.

In starting the operation of the spinning apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2,the arm 6 in the spinneret will be normally positioned in some positiondisposing a spinneret above the level 55 of the bath in the chamber 16.As the tubes 37 and 47 are shown broken, it will be readily understoodthat the normal position of the container 44 is above the region sweptby the arm 6 and the tube 27 and that the arm and the tube may occupy aposition above the housing 14 without interference with the container44. As a preferred lacing procedure, the flow of the filamentformingliquid through the spinneret will be commenced before the spinneret islowered into the bath of compartment 16. Therefore, assuming that thechamber 16 is filled with coagulant, coagulation of the materialdischarged from the spinneret will have commenced during movement of thespinneret from its non-operative position to the position shown in fullline in Fig. 1. This means that a strand end of several inches in lengthhas already been formed and is contiguous with the material beingdischarged from the spinneret as the arm swings into the position shown.Normally, the coagulated strand end, now buoyantly suspended in thecoagulant within the chamber 16, will be prevented from entering thechamber 15 by the outfiowing of coagulant through the opening throughwhich the spinneret enters the chamber 15. The flow of the coagulantinto the chamber 15 has been previously started before attempting tomove the sp-inneret into its operating position.

As the coagulated material is buoyant with-in the coagulant, thecoagulated strand end will normally extend over the upper part of theperiphery of the opening as the closure 8 swings into place and iseither cut by engagement of the resilient ring 10 with the periphery ofthe opening or is held fast when severance does not occur. Consideringnow a portion of the coagulated strand which has been caught at theperiphery of the opening and extends upwardly through the chamber 15into the tube 37 and is then looped downwardly toward the face of thespinneret wherefrom filament-forrning material is now being constantlydischarged, the swift current of the coagulant passing through theflared portion of the neck 36 into the tube quickly catches the loopportion and severs it close to the face of the spinneret. This, however,leaves a length of strand extending and dangling from a portion of theperiphery of the opening up through the spinning chamber and perhapsinto a portion of the tube 37. It is important to free this danglingpiece of strand so that it may leave the spinning chamber and the tubeand does not later, after the spinning apparatus has been completelylaced, come loose and promptly attach itself to the fresh yarn nowcontinuously passing from the spinneret, and thus cause the breaking ofthe yarn as it is drawn through equipment disposed further along thepath of the yarn.

To break loose any strand portion that may be caught between the closure8 and the opening therefor, means such as the jet device 56 illustratedin Fig. 3 may be provided for ejecting a plurality of fine jets ofliquid or gas, such as air toward the surface of the closure 8 which protrudes through the opening. The jet device 56 has a tube 57 extendingthrough the wall 19 and upwardly to a valve 58 which may be attached forconvenience of operation to the tube 47. A high pressure fluid,preferably water, air, or the coagulant solution, is supplied through asupply tube 57a connected with the tube 57. The valve is preferably atype that may be operated instantly, as by a push button, so that thepressure may he applied instantaneously to the jet device 56 to loosen astrand fragment caught sgrsogsw orslightly after the instantatWhi'ch'theaiin is thrown into-"the position shown to promptlyuemove''anystrand fragment and thus allow an operator-to proceed-instantly withthe lacing of the'port ions" of-a yarn manufacturing syst'em related tothe apparatusherein shown. Obviously other mechanical systems maybedevisedfor the'removal of yarn fragments in pla'ce'of jet device 56-ofwhich one is hereinafter described.

Fig. 4 illustrates by an ele'vation,-partly in section, spinningapparatus having a number of the'same principles of construction andoperation as the previously described embodiment. However, intheapparatus of Fig. 4, a compartment 65, analogous to' compartment 16of Fig; 1, is 'not used for preheating the strand-forming material priorto extrusion. Furthermore," the viscose or other filament-formingsolution is conducted between the hub portion66a and the'closure portion66b of the spinneretsupporting arm 66by a simplycur-ved tube 68'inst'eadof the coiled rounder 27 of' Fig. 1. The compartment 65 is filled onlytemporarily duringthelacing of'the appara- The spinning chamber 70 issupplied with a liquid for hardening'the' strand-forming materialextruded from the spinneret 71 from a supply duct 72; When the arm 66 isswung into 'the' position shown in dotted outline wherein-thespinneret'is disposed wellabove the surface of the liquid at 73, thehardening liquid or coagulant flows into the chamber 65 at a rategreater than can escape through a relatively small hole 75 extendingthrough the wall 76. Consequently, the liquid level is rapidly elevatedto 73 at which the liquid may overflow through apertures 77 of the wall76 into the passageway 78 and thereafter pass into a duct 79. Thechamber quickly empties by discharging through the aperture 75 after thearm 66 is swung into the position shown in full line in Fig. 4 therebystopping any further flow of liquid from the chamber 70 into the chamber65.

For removing a strand fragment which may be caught between the closure66b and the opening therefor through thecommon lateral wall. 80 of thechamber 65 and 70, a slide 81 extends through a wall 82 of the chamber70 and is supported within the bearing 83 which comprises preferably,and at least in part, a resilient material fittingv tightly around theouter periphery of the slide to provide a seal. The slide carries ablade 84 which may move into engagement with a strand fragment in thedirections indicated by the double-headed arrow 85. A finger-grip 86 ismounted on the slide exteriorly of the housing defining the'compartment70 whereby the operator may remove av strand fragment from the vicinityof the upper portion of the periphery of the opening of the wall 80bymoving the slide lengthwise of itself to sweep the blade across theinner face of the closure.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that changes and variations may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinning chamber, a duct extendingupwardly from the interior of the chamber, an open-top chamber disposedlaterally adjacent the first chamber, a wall between the two chambershaving an opening therethrough connecting the interior regions of thechambers, means for controlling the passage of liquid from the open-topchamber to maintain the level thereof generally above said opening, aspinneret, means for movably supporting the spinneret, said supportingmeans being movable with respect to the chambers to transfer thespinneret from a position above said level to a position below saidlevel within the spinning chamber wherein the spinneret faces into theduct, a closure fixedly associated with -the spinneret for closing theopening at the latter-named "l po sition of the spinneret, and a secondduct connected {with the spinning chamber for supplying a liquidcoagulant interiorly of- 'saidchambeilsaid means for controlliiig theliquid level or 'flieopen-wpehamber being operative when the closure is'remov'ed fr'ofiithe openingiand liquid coagil 1am is fiowingnherethroughintothe openao chamber from the first chamber.

2.- Spinning apparatus comprising a spinningchamber; a'duc't' extendingupwardly from theinte'riorof the chant-- ber,"an open-top chamber havinga lateral wall in common with the'spinni'ng chamber, the wall having anopening therethrough'connecting the interior regions of the chambers,overflow means 'for'theopen-top chamber disposed at'a'level'generally'above'said opening for controlling'the storage of liquid to adesired level, aspinneret', means for movablyfsupportin'g the spinneret,said supporting means being movable with respect to the chambers totransfer thespinneretfromapositi'on"abovesaid' level to a positionbelowsaid level within 'theepinning chamber wherein the spinneret facesint'o the 'duct,a--closure fixedly associated with the spinneret' forclosing the opening at the latternamed position or the spinneret, andduct connected'to' the spinning chamber for supplying a liquid forhardening the extruded material into a filamentary 'strand 'in teriorlyof said chamber."

3, Spinningapparatus comprising a spinning chamber, a 'duct extendingupwardly from the interior of the charitber, an open-top charnber havinga lateral wall in common With'the spinning chamber, the wall having anopening there'through connecting the interior regions of thechambers,a'wall ofthe open-top chamber other than the first wall having one ormore openings extending therethrough above the first-namedopening forcontrolling the'storage of 'liquid therein' to a desired level abovesaid-opening, a spinneret, pivotable me'ansfor supporting the spinneret,

the pivotal axis of said means being spaced above the firstnamed openingand in substantially parallel relation to the general plane'of saidopening whereby the spinneret may be positioned'above'said level and theinterior region of the'open-top chamber and swung to a'position at alower level within thespinning chamber wherein the spin neret isaligned'to discharge a c ntinuous extruded prod uct through-the duct; aclosure fixedly associatedwith the spinneret'for'closing the first-namedopening at. the latter-named'positiomof'the spinneret, anda ductconnected 'to'the spinning chamber for supplying 'a liquid for hardeningthe extruded material into a filamentary strand.

4. Spinning apparatus comprising aspinning chamber, a duct extendingup'wardlyfrom the interior of the chamber, the upper interiorsurfaceof-the chamber-extending inwardly and upwardly toward thelower mouthofi'the' duct to define a bell-shaped entrance to the duct, an open topchamber having a'lateral wall in com'mon'with the spinning chamber, saidwall having an opening there through connecting the interior regions ofthe chambers, a wall of the open-top chamber other than the first-namedwall having one or more openings extending therethrough above the levelof the first-named opening'forcontr'olling thestorage of liquid to adesired level above said or'a e'ning, a spmneret, means for movablysupporting the spinneret;v

said means being relatively movable withres'pect to the chambers totransfer the spinneret from a position above said level to a positionbelow said level within the spinning chamber wherein the spinneret facesinto the duct, 21 closure fixedly associated with the spinneret forclosing the first-named opening at the latter-named position of thespinneret, and a duct connected to the spinning chamber for supplying aliquid for hardening the extruded material into a filamentary strandinteriorly of the said chamber, means for severing a strand fragmenthe'ld be tween the closure and the periphery of the first-named openingwhile the fragment is suspended within a liquid filling the spinningchamber, said means being movable within a region closely adjacent theinner surface of the closure, and means mounted exteriorly of thechambers for controlling the movement of the first-named means medium,

\ 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 comprising a hollow fluiddistributor mounted adjacent the common wall, the distributor having anaperture aligned for directing a stream of fluid transversely of theopening, duct means extending from the distributor through a Wall of thefirst chamber for supplying the fluid at high pressure within saiddistributor and producing said stream as the means for engaging thestrand fragment and a valve for controlling the passage of the fluidthrough the duct means.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 comprising a movable element as saidmeans for severing a strand fragment, means for movably supporting theelement along an ambit through which the element sweeps a region withinthe spinning chamber immediately adjacent surfaces of the common walland the closure along the periphery of the first-named opening, saidmovable means having a portion extending through a wall of the spinningchamber adapted to be manipulated exteriorly of said chamber.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 comprising a blade elongate member ofuniform cross section for supporting the blade, a bearing mounted on onewall of the spin ning chamber for supporting a portion of said memberinteriorly of the spinning chamber and another portion exteriorlythereof, the bearing being disposed with respect to the first-namedopening to provide movement of the blade within the spinning chamber ina direction substantially parallel to the general plane of said openingadjacent portions of the inner surface of the closure and the commonwall which are adjacent a substantial portion of the periphery of saidopening.

8. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinning chamber, a duct extendingupwardly from the interior of the chamber, an open-top chamber having alateral wall in common with the spinning chamber, the wall having anopening therethrough connecting the interior regions of the chambers, awall of the open-top chamber other than the common wall having one ormore overflow apertures therethrough for controlling storage of liquidtherein to the desired level above the opening, a spinneret, a pivotablearm for supporting the spinneret, the pivot axis of the arm beingdisposed in upwardly spaced relation with respect to the opening andsubstantially parallel relation to the general plane of the openingwhereby the spinneret may be positioned above said level and swung fromsaid position to a position at a lower level within the spinning chamberwith the face of the spinneret facing into the duct, the arm comprisinga closure for the opening and an extension projecting interiorly of thespinning chamber, said extension supporting the spinneret in thelatter-named position when the closure is positioned in, and closing,the opening, and a duct connected to the first chamber for supplying aliquid thereto.

9. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinning chamber, a duct extendingupwardly from the interior of the chamber, an open-top chamber having alateral wall in common with the first chamber, the wall having anopening therethrough connecting the interior regions of the chambers, awall of the open-top chamber other than the first wall having anoverflow passageway extending at a level above the opening formaintaining liquid in the open-top chamber at a desired level above theopening, a spinneret, a pivotable arm for supporting the spinneret, thepivotal axis of the arm being spaced above to the opening and insubstantially parallel relation to the general plane of the openingwhereby the spinneret may be positioned above said level and swung to aposition at a lower level within the spinning chamber wherein thespinneret faces upwardly into the lower opening of the 'duct, the armcomprising a closure positioned within, 'and closing, the opening in thelatter position of the spinneret, a duct connected to the spinningchamber for supplying a liquid for coagulating filament-forming materialinto a strand, the arm having conduit means for conducting thestrand-forming liquid to the spinneret comprising a coiledheat-exchanger duct supported by the arm substantially below said levelat the position of the arm corresponding to the latter-named position ofthe spinneret Within the spinning chamber, one end of the coiled ductbeing connected with the spinneret by a passageway extending through aportion of said arm, said first-named duct extending upwardly andterminating within a container disposed at a predetermined distanceabove the spinning chamber, and a drainage duct extending from thecontainer into the open-top chamber.

10. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinning chamber, a duct extendingupwardly from the interior of the chamber, an open-top chamber having alateral wall in common with the spinning chamber, the wall having anopening therethrough connecting the interior regions of the chambers, asupply duct connected to the spinning chamber for conducting a liquidfilament-hardening material thereinto, a wall of the open-top chamberother than the first wall having an overflow passageway disposed at alevel above said opening and an aperture extending through the secondwall at a level below said opening, said aperture having a liquidtransfer rate substantially less than the rate of liquid transferthrough said supply duct, a spinneret and pivotable means for supportingthe spinneret, the pivotal axis of said supporting means being spacedabove to the opening and in substantially parallel relation to thegeneral plane of the opening whereby the spinneret may be positionedabove the region of the open-top chamber that extends below said leveland swung through the opening to a position at a lower level within thespinning chamber wherein the spinneret faces upwardly into the firstduct, the pivotable means comprising a closure disposed within, andclosing, the opening at the latter-named position of the spinneret, saidoverflow passageway being disposed above the spinneret in itslatter-named position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS827,434 Friedrich July 31, 1906 1,641,588 Holken Sept. 6, 1927 2,536,092Roberts Jan. 2, 1951 2,611,925 Merion et a1. Sept. 30, 1952

